Does Insurance Market Activity Promote Economic Growth? A Cross‐Country Study for Industrialized and Developing Countries

Insurance market activity may contribute to economic growth, both as financial intermediary and provider of risk transfer and indemnification, by allowing different risks to be managed more efficiently and by mobilizing domestic savings. During the last decade, there has been faster growth in insurance market activity, particularly in emerging markets, given the process of financial liberalization and integration, which raises questions about the overall impact on economic growth. This article tests whether there is a causal relationship between insurance market activity (life and nonlife insurance) and economic growth. Using the generalized method of moments (GMM) for dynamic models of panel data for 55 countries between 1976 and 2004, I find robust evidence for this relationship. Both life and nonlife insurance have a positive and significant causal effect on economic growth. For life insurance, high‐income countries drive the results, and for nonlife insurance, both high‐income and developing countries drive the results.     

发达国家寿险次级市场的发展现状、比较及启示

寿险次级市场能够提高保险消费者的福利,促进整个保险业的发展。介绍发达国家寿险次级市场的发展概况,着重分析最早的寿险次级市场即英国市场、相对年轻的德国寿险次级市场以及规模最大的美国寿险次级市场,并对上述市场的目标保单、交易方式、监管规则、税收政策等进行比较和研究。在此基础上,明确提出中国应借鉴发达国家的经验,正确认识寿险次级市场的影响,从寿险初级市场规模、法律许可、中介机构、保险监管等方面为寿险次级市场的建立创造条件,并科学地进行寿险保单贴现交易的试点。     

Does insurance activity promote economic growth? Further evidence based on bootstrap panel Granger causality test

This study applies the bootstrap panel Granger causality test to test whether insurance activity promotes economic growth, using data from 10 OECD countries over the period of 1979–2006. Empirical results indicate that one-way Granger causality running from all insurance activities to economic growth for France, Japan, Netherlands, Switzerland, and the UK, and economic growth Granger causes insurance activities in Canada (for life insurance), Italy (for total and life insurance) and the USA (for total and non-life insurance). There is a two-way Granger causality between life insurance activity and economic growth in the USA, while no causality between insurance activities and economic growth is found in Belgium (for all insurance), Canada (for total and non-life insurance), Italy (for non-life insurance) and Sweden (for life insurance). Our results also confirm the finding of Ward and Zurbruegg [Does insurance promote economic growth? Evidence from OECD economies. Journal of Risk and Insurance 67, no. 4: 489–506] showing that the insurance–growth nexus varies across countries, since their paper have previously demonstrated heterogeneity in this vein. In an analysis of a broader, though overlapping 17-country sample and taking into account banking activities, the results suggest the importance of including banking activities when investigating the insurance–growth relationship.     

中国保险需求地区差距的实证研究

本文分别构建了我国地区人身险和财产险影响因素的实证模型,使用1996年～2008年的省际面板数据,重点采用动态系统GMM估计方法,检验人身险和财产险需求地区差异的动态形成机制。研究发现：与人身保险需求相比,财产保险需求近年来的“习惯形成”特征更为显著,收入水平的增长更有利于加快当前财产保险市场的发展;东部省份的经济发展...     

Impact of interest rates on the life insurance market development: Cross-country evidence

Studies have found that interest rates create incentives for insurance firms to focus on financial markets through investments. Using a cross-country context, we conjecture that interest rates affect the life insurance market’s development. Using an initial sample comprising the time series of interest rates and insurance markets’ measures from 34 countries across 1998–2017, we found that the density and penetration of the life insurance market is low in countries with high interest rates. Using another sample of 6,451 observations from insurance firms operating in the same 34 countries, we verified that the financial and operational incomes are equally significant in predicting the net income for life insurance companies that operate in countries with high interest rates. Our study contributes to observations that the lack of governmental control over public expenses impacts interest rates and, thereby, the opportunities for insurers.     

A Cross-Section Analysis of the Determinants of Life Insurance Consumption in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan

This study examines some of the key factors affecting life insurance consumption in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. It also attempts to gain an understanding of the different characteristics of the market in life insurance in each territory. Income and life insurance consumption are found to be strongly correlated, which is consistent with previous studies. Education is a significant factor. Price is found to be insignificant, largely conflicting with previous studies. Levels of social security are not significantly related. The one-child policy in mainland China has a negative effect on life insurance consumption. Differences in the level of economic development reveal a variation in life insurance consumption. Generally, the more advanced the economy, the greater the life insurance consumption. However, mainland China, which is a low-income country, shows the greatest potential.     

人寿保险行业市场结构及影响因素研究

准入退出壁垒、市场集中度、规模经济和范围经济以及产品差异化等是影响人寿保险业市场结构的主要因素。中国保险市场准入、退出的行政性政策壁垒较高,市场集中度较高,属于寡占 III 型市场结构;寿险业保费规模、保险密度、保险深度、保险资产总额占 GDP 的比重、保险资产总额占整个金融资产的比重较低;寿险产品同质化现象较严重。鉴此,应降低市场进入壁垒,建立市场退出机制,达到优化市场结构,提高资源配置效率目的。     

中日两国老龄产业发展比较研究

中国的老龄产业起步于上世纪九十年代,相对于发达国家的老龄产业则起步晚,底子薄,任务重。因此,吸取国外发达国家老龄产业经验,对发展我国的老龄产业很有裨益。本文着重分析日本老龄产业的护理产业及护理保险制度所起的作用,以及对老龄生活商品的开发及老龄市场的形成与发展。通过老龄产业与市场的政策支持比较及老龄产业与市场的发展战略比较以及对中国老龄产业存在的主要问题及成因的分析,寻找中国老龄产业发展的新途径,用发达国家老龄产业的经验启示来思考中国老龄产业发展的未来,展示中国老龄产业新领域的开拓思路。     

关于我国建立发展伊斯兰保险市场的建议

伊斯兰律法禁止利息、不确定性交易等经济行为,致使传统保险无法满足穆斯林的保险需求。经过多年的研究,全新的伊斯兰保险诞生,并被穆斯林和非穆斯林所接受,而且市场发展正不断地扩张。我国拥有2000多万伊斯兰人口,而伊斯兰保险市场一片空白,也无学术的理论研究。笔者通过分析我国伊斯兰人口的分布情况及民族特征,以及伊斯兰人口集中地新疆的保险发展状况,探讨了我国发展伊斯兰保险市场面临的诸多机遇与挑战,并提出了以新疆为试点发展伊斯兰保险等政策建议。     

Financial liberalization,insurance market,and the likelihood of financial crises

This paper provides empirical evidence to investigate the direct impact of financial liberalization on the likelihood of currency/systemic banking crises, and examines the roles of insurance market, country risk, and economic conditional variables on the relationship between financial liberalization and financial crises in 39 countries. Our empirical results support that financial liberalization does have a significantly negative impact on the likelihood of currency/systemic banking crises, and that the indirect effects of insurance development and lower country risk decrease the probability of crises, but the indirect effect of economic conditional proxies is enhanced with the likelihood of a financial crisis. The policy implication is that the government or authority should strengthen the positive role of the insurance sector in order to combat financial crises.     

经济政策不确定性、地区文化与保险需求

本文在拓展背景风险理论研究的基础上,揭示了经济政策不确定性对保险需求的影响及其受地区文化制约的理论机制。并利用2007-2017年中国30个地区的月度面板数据,检验了经济政策不确定性、地区文化与保险需求间的内在联系。结果发现:第一,经济政策不确定性会对保险需求产生显著正影响,且这种效应在地区人身险需求上表现更明显;第二,将地区文化指标集纳入经济政策不确定性与保险需求关系的研究框架,发现地区文化差异会对经济政策不确定性影响保险需求产生调节效应。因此政府需在充分重视经济政策波动和文化对经济活动的双重影响基础上,加强国内社会保障体系建设,建立更透明的信息传递渠道,培育人们主动抵抗风险的意识和文化习惯,调整保险供给结构,以减少不确定性对社会经济行为的负面冲击。     

The Demand for Life Insurance in OECD Countries

This article examines the determinants of life insurance consumption in OECD countries. Consistent with previous results, we find a significant positive income elasticity of life insurance demand. Demand also increases with the number of dependents and level of education, and decreases with life expectancy and social security expenditure. The country's level of financial development and its insurance market's degree of competition appear to stimulate life insurance sales, whereas high inflation and real interest rates tend to decrease consumption. Overall, life insurance demand is better explained when the product market and socioeconomic factors are jointly considered. In addition, the use of GMM estimates helps reconcile our findings with previous puzzling results based on inconsistent OLS estimates given heteroscedasticity problems in the data.     

Insurance demand and country risks: A nonlinear panel data analysis

This paper investigates the impact of country risks, including political, financial, and economic risks, on the income elasticity of insurance demand. Using the panel smooth transition regression model, we find that there is a significant regime-switching effect concerning the impact of country risks on the income elasticity of insurance demand. A full-sample analysis shows that the income elasticity of insurance demand decreases when country risks diminish. In a subsample analysis based on income level, legal origin, and restriction on banks' participation in insurance activities, we find that the elasticity diminishes in general when economic risk drops. When political risk is lower, the elasticity decreases in countries with high-income, common law origin, and insurance activities permitted by banks, whereas a clear pattern cannot be identified in the case of financial risk.     

中国保险业发展与经济增长关系研究——基于VAR模型的实证分析

尽管保险业发展可以通过改变要素积累速度和宏观效率等多种途径来作用于经济增长,但源于经济增长的"需求追随"效应表明,对一些国家而言,很有可能是经济增长带动了保险业发展。本文基于向量自回归模型(VAR),对1982年～2010年中国保险业发展与经济增长的关系进行了考察。实证结果表明,我国保险业发展对经济增长的贡献是非常微弱的,经济增长的"需求追随"效应促进了我国保险业规模的扩大和结构的改变。但保险业的运行效率与经济增长几乎没有什么关系。     

经济转轨国家存款保险制度的建立与实施

存款保险制度对转轨国家可以起到防止银行“挤兑传染”,达到金融体系稳定的目的;有利于建立平等竞争的市场环境;有利于构建有效的市场退出机制;有利于促进金融业的对外开放等。计划经济体制下隐性存款保险制度存在着影响公平、影响效率、滋生道德风险等问题。转轨国家存款保险制度的特点是:成立的时间较短;专门机构经营;强制性保险和设立保险额度等。     

Economic, Demographic, and Institutional Determinants of Life Insurance Consumption across Countries

Life insurance has become an increasingly important part ofthe financial sector over the past 40 years, providing a rangeof financial services for consumers and becoming a major sourceof investment in the capital market. But what drives the largevariation in life insurance consumption across countries remainsunclear. Using a panel with data aggregated at different frequenciesfor 68 economies in 1961–2000, this article finds thateconomic indicators—such as inflation, income per capita,and banking sector development—and religious and institutionalindicators are the most robust predictors of the use of lifeinsurance. Education, life expectancy, the young dependencyratio, and the size of the social security system appear tohave no robust association with life insurance consumption.The results highlight the importance of price stability andbanking sector development in fully realizing the savings andinvestment functions of life insurance in an economy.     

论重构现代市场经济环境下的保险业诚信文化——以国学古代伦理“义利之辩”为鉴

诚实守信是市场经济的一项最基本道德要求,就国家、企业和个人而言,皆有重要意义。保险业因其特有的金融性质、保障特点及社会责任,决定了此行业较其他行业而言,须有更高的诚信操守：诚信是保险企业生存与发展的内在要求,是提高公司核心竞争力的必然路径,更是保障保险市场的交易安全的逻辑前提。因此,要培育中国保险诚信文化,就必须借鉴国...     

Insurance and economic policy uncertainty

Just as the world has witnessed the increased importance of the insurance sector over the past few decades, it has also witnessed a sharp rise in risks and uncertainties. Surprisingly, studies analyzing the relationship between economic policy uncertainty and the insurance sector are almost non-existent. Another major limitation of insurance literature is the choice of methodology. Most studies on the insurance sector do not take into consideration issues of heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence, and are therefore subject to errors. To address the identified gaps, this research investigates the impact of economic policy uncertainty on insurance premiums in a panel of 15 countries over the period 1998–2016 by employing heterogeneous panel estimation techniques with cross-sectional dependence. The Durbin-Hausman cointegration tests of Westerlund (2008) confirm that a long-run relationship exists between the variables. Findings from the error correction based panel estimations show that the insurance sector is not immune to the effects of economic policy uncertainty. Economic policy uncertainty raises insurance premiums both in the short and long run, although the long-run impact is greater than the short-run impact. In addition, economic policy uncertainty exerts a bigger influence on non-life insurance premium than on life insurance premium, indicating that the economic risks covered by non-life insurance are more sensitive to uncertainty than the mortality and longevity risks covered by life insurance. Our findings further show that national income, education, population, financial development and institutional quality all raise insurance premiums, while inflation lowers insurance premiums.     

经济周期视野下的中国寿险业发展态势探析

运用宏观经济学的研究方法,从经济周期视野对我国寿险业的发展态势进行了探讨。首先,对寿险业发展的宏观脉络进行了分析,认为寿险业的产品特征具有较强的亲周期性,通过HP滤波进行趋势周期分解后证实寿险业的周期性波动幅度比产险业显著。其次,对寿险业发展的当前态势进行了分析,维持了寿险业长期趋势向好的总体判断,但认为经济周期对寿险业的负面冲击效应较大,短期内寿险业难以恢复高增长态势。最后,对寿险业的发展提出了若干政策建议,认为准确定位、改善监管和优化环境是促进寿险业可持续发展的当务之急。     

The Hungarian Insurance Market: Economic Transition in the Insurance Sector

This article analyzes Hungary's insurance sector as an important part of the country's economic transition from a centrally planned economy to a market economy. It details the historic economic development of the Hungarian insurance market from a state monopoly to a competitive insurance market where foreign-owned insurance companies have a dominant market share.